My GT750 is having it's engine rebuilt so a top friend lent me his RE5 for the trip. I thoroughly enjoyed riding this beast. She has the most amazing exhaust note (scared the begeebers out of livestock along the way ) and I found her very easy to handle. When pushing the bike into a parking spot, she feels very ungainly and top heavy but once underway it rode nicely and I had no problems cornering. It has a torquey feel, with power winding on in a very polite manner - rather than it rushing on. Seemed to like running in the 4-5.5K rev range.
Some of the bikes:
How are these for roads? Spot the traffic ...
My pick for THE best road in the South Island. Kilometres of winding, twisting, undulating, raw biker-friendly tarmac along the shores of a lake:
Some of the scenery:
Mt John observatory near Tekapo. The area was designated an International Dark Sky Reserve in 2012 due to it having minimal light pollution and therefore a great place to view the heavens:
Mt Cook, NZ's highest mountain at 12,218 ft:
A great experience with an awesome bunch of guys. The focus was on the riding and there was much bike talk, a few tall stories and the odd ale (or two). Looking forward to next year's ride already. Don't let anyne tell you these old girls are not reliable or heaps of fun to ride over the bigger distances. Though I must say the RE rivalled my H1A for fuel stats
Despite the snow, it is meant to be summer down here!Mike
The photos were meant to be in the text 
We only managed to drive around the north island when we visited. Need to plan a return trip obviously ! 
